334 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



patient skill of the amateur wins its best 

 reward. Looking through the pages of " The 

 Book of the Cat," we find many good examples 

 of how the cat should be used in picture 

 making. The reproductions of Madame 

 Ronner's charming pictures show how they 

 may be handled with palette and brush ; but, 

 alas ! here we photographers labour under an 

 immense disadvantage. However artistic our 

 taste, however good and pretty our intended 

 composition may be, we cannot, as the artist 

 with pencils and brushes can, make individual 

 sketches of pussies in the different positions 

 needed and bring them together in the finished 

 picture. Whether we use two or more cats, 

 they must each be kind enough to take the 

 pose we desire simultaneously ; hence our 



and so hope to make a picture. Accident does 

 occasionally present us with something worth 

 having, but far more often it offers us results 

 only fit for the waste-paper basket. 



Before commencing, be sure you have an 

 idea to work out in your picture, and of the 

 lines you hope to follow in giving it expression. 

 If possible, make a rough sketch no matter 

 how rough of this idea, showing the position 

 not only of the cats, but also of the accessories 

 needed. Be careful to keep the composition 

 simple and not to overcrowd it. This sketch 

 will greatly assist you in arranging your pic- 

 ture and posing your cats. Before you 

 attempt to pose the cats it is absolutely neces- 

 sary that all accessories should be fixed so 

 that they cannot be knocked over, or the cats 



AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS. 

 (Photo: Mrs. S. F. Clarke.) 



greater difficulty. However, the illustrations 

 on pages i, 37, 49, 88, 128, 199, and many 

 others indicate the wide field open to the photo- 

 grapher with a little taste and vast patience. 

 In this class of photography it is of no use to 

 go to work in a haphazard fashion, snap- 

 shotting our cats in all kinds of positions, trust- 

 ing to mere luck to yield something worth 

 keeping ; then to give a sounding title to it, 



will get frightened arid be useless as sitters for 

 a long time to come. That cats are nervous 

 should never be forgotten, and any chance 

 of startling them strictly guarded against. 

 When your background, table, and accessories 

 are all in their places, put your camera in 

 position, arrange the picture on the ground- 

 glass, and see that you get all well within the 

 size of the plate i it is safer to have the picture 



